A global discussion about the impact of shopping culture on brand strategy, led by the strategic community of The Integer Group which is one of the world's largest and most renowned retail, promotions and shopper marketing agencies.

Des Moines, Iowa residents are gearing up for another year of their unique Halloween tradition known as Beggars' Night. A tradition residents celebrate on October 30th each year in lieu of the typical festivities observed by most of the country on October 31st. The city and surrounding areas have spent the last 80 years putting a twist on the candy fueled fun by creating a tradition that’s as unique as the people who call this place home.

Google “Des Moines Beggars' Night” and you’ll find a tale of juvenile vandalism and destruction in the city’s center in the 1930’s. As a result, city officials voted to change the tradition in hopes of putting an end to the rule breaking, and so, Beggars' Night was born. A tradition that takes place on October 30th and asks kids to tell a riddle or do a trick in order to earn their candy.

As the retail environment and shopping behavior continue to evolve, traditional brand trackers have become great enablers of mediocrity. Tracking brand commerce health helps companies better navigate the new retail reality of integrated commerce.

In our latest white paper, we review how to assess brand commerce health, better understand modern shoppers, select key performance indicators that work best for you brand and how to implement tracking technology. Click here to download The Next Generation of Retail Brand Trackers.

The CX revolution is underway. Transformation is happening everywhere, and service design finds itself at the center of this storm. Service Design Week starts tomorrow in Boston and Integer's own Dennis Wakabayashi is delivering a Keynote on C-Suite Centricity: The CX Impact on Enterprise Performance.

This keynote address will inspire attendees to reach for higher results with their current CX programs by looking at CX at the strategy from an entirely different perspective. Dennis will unpack practical tools and methods and reveal the true connection between customer experience and your organization’s financial success.

Some of the most recognizable brands in the world are joining forces in an effort to increase voter turnout on November 6th. Major companies like Walmart, Patagonia and Lyft have come together in a bi-partisan coalition named ‘Time to Vote’ to fight political apathy in a time when voter participation has reached historic lows . The group’s efforts have manifested in a number of ways: Snapchat is allowing users to register to vote through its app, Walmart created a website to help people get informed, and Lyft will be discounting rides to the polls.

Brands displaying strong points of view on cultural happenings is nothing new. In just the past month, Levis has taken a stand on gun violence and Nike on black oppression. However, the increased frequency of brands boldly announcing their beliefs tells us that this occurrence is no longer merely a trend. It has born into a movement.

Does this predict a future wherein shoppers' primary purchase drivers include a brand passions’ in addition to price and quality? Will we reach a period in time where purchases become so belief-driven that brands’ and retailers’ bottom lines begin to hurt if they don’t take a stand? We may be closer to that reality than we think. A recent study found that two-thirds of consumers don’t want companies to stay silent on large issues.

It’s no secret that the IoT (Internet of Things) has been increasing its critical mass over the past few years. It started slowly, in a very stealthy way: lightbulbs, smart wearables and speakers. Now, the IoT is gaining momentum, making its way into everyday products like refrigerators, doorbells, thermostats and cars. It’s seeping into every facet of our lives. And, with Amazon’s Echo Auto announcement (which brings Alexa into the car), the war for dominance of the IoT is quietly being waged.

The 101 definition of IoT is a system of interconnected, interrelated devices that collect and share data without human interaction. The war being waged is over which framework, or OS (operating system), can connect, share and make meaning of this data through apps and devices to be actionable and, most importantly for consumers and marketers alike, transactional and automated.

Snap has announced it will test a new feature that allows users to buy whatever they come across by simply pointing their Snap camera on any product or barcode. After, a pop-up window will show the item or similar items as they are available on Amazon. With one tap, users can then buy through Amazon.

This is just one more example of how social platforms are increasingly implementing commerce features, blurring the lines between eCommerce and social media. Instagram has made its posts shoppable, Pinterest introduced a similar visual shopping tool in cooperation with Target, and Facebook is rolling out augmented reality ads with a link to buy. While all of these drive transaction, the instant nature of Snap’s new feature offers new possibilities to prompt impulsive purchase moments anywhere. This is something that impulse categories in particular may be able to benefit from as they have so far been struggling to translate impulse to the digital world.